This year Ioncinema.com is covering the 2006 edition of the Sundance Film Festival LIVE from Park City, Utah. We’ll be on hand to cover the festival, and while we won’t be able to cover everything from A to Z: here is a comprehensive beforehand look at the selections in each of the festival’s sections. (Note: To access individual preview pages, simply click on the links below)
January 19th to the 28th, 2006
Counting Down:
DOCU COMPETITION
- “American Blackout,” Ian Inaba’s assessment of the career of U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney of Georgia and the purported suppression of the black vote historically and in the 2004 election in Florida and Ohio.
- “Crossing Arizona,” Joseph Mathew’s mosaic of human stories enmeshed in Arizona’s illegal immigration crisis.
- “God Grew Tired of Us,” Christopher Quinn and Tom Walker’s account of the culture shock that hits four Sudanese boys who come to the U.S. after surviving for years in Sub-Sarahan Africa.
- “Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends,” Patricia Foulkrod’s study of the experiences of soldiers during military training, in the midst of combat in Iraq and upon their return to the U.S.
- “Iraq in Fragments,” James Longley’s three-chapter look at Iraqis under conditions of war, occupation and ethnic tension.
- “A Lion in the House,” directors Steven Bogner and Julia Reichert’s 3½-hour look at five families dealing with cancer-stricken children.
- “Small Town Gay Bar,” Malcolm Ingram’s analysis of conflicts and opposing standards in a community in the deep South.
- “So Much So Fast,” Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan’s multifaceted examination of the repercussions of a man’s having been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).
- “Thin,” Lauren Greenfield’s up-close look at four women dealing with anorexia and bulimia at an eating-disorders treatment center.
- ” ‘Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris,” Raymond De Felitta’s investigation into the relationship between artist and audience as seen through the mysterious life and career of jazz singer Jackie Paris.
- “The Trials of Darryl Hunt,” Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg’s probe into racial bias in the criminal justice system, growing out of a wrongful conviction of a black man for a white woman’s rape and murder.
- “TV Junkie,” Michael Cain’s presentation of a TV personality’s entire life over 46 years as culled from 5,000 hours of video and more than 3,000 photographs.
- “An Unreasonable Man,” Henriette Mantel and Stephen Skrovan’s nearly three-hour overview of the career of Ralph Nader.
- “Wide Awake,” Alan Berliner’s self-portrait as an insomniac, recounting the pros and cons of sleeplessness.
- “Wordplay,” Patrick Creadon’s portrait of the New York Times’ celebrated crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz, his work and his fans.
- “The World According to Sesame Street,” Linda Goldstein Knowlton and Linda Hawkins Costigan’s inside look at how the perennial children’s show is adapted for international consumption, particularly in some of the world’s political hot spots.
WORLD CINEMA – DOCU COMPETITION
- “5 Days” (Israel), in which director Yoav Shamir employed seven crews and exclusive access to the Israeli Defense Forces and the general in charge to document the evacuation of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and the area’s turnover to the Palestinians.
- “Angry Monk: Reflections on Tibet” (Switzerland), Luc Schaedler’s portrait of rebel monk Gendun Choephel, which contrasts old and new views of Tibet.
- “Black Gold” (U.K.), Marc Francis and Nick Francis’ revelation of the international coffee trade as charted by the journey from a struggling Ethiopian grower’s farm to the consumer. World premiere.
- “By the Ways: A Journey With William Eggleston” (France), Cedric Laty and Vincent Gerard’s consideration of the character and work of the photographer.
- “Dear Pyongyang” (Japan), Yang Yonghi’s look at a Korean-Japanese girl’s exploration of her father’s family-endangering political loyalty to North Korea.
- “The Giant Buddhas” (Switzerland), Christian Frei’s film essay on the implications of the Taliban’s infamous destruction of the celebrated Buddha statues in Afghanistan.
- “Glastonbury” (U.K.), Julien Temple’s coverage of the annual Glastonbury Festival, which documents the spirit of social changes over the past three decades. World premiere.
- “I for India” (U.K./Germany/Italy), Sandhya Suri’s account of migration and belonging across four decades as related through Super 8 films and audio letters sent between India and England. World premiere.
- “In the Pit” (Mexico), Juan Carlos Rulfo’s look at workers building a second deck on a Mexico City freeway. World premiere.
- “Into Great Silence” (Germany), Philip Groening’s nearly silent meditation on the monastic life inside the Grande Chartreuse, the home of the Carthusian Order.
- “KZ” (U.K.), Rex Bloomstein’s examination of how the German concentration camp town of Mauthausen has dealt with its past.
- “No One” (Mexico), Tin Dirdamal’s account of a Central American immigrant’s nightmarish crossing of Mexico on her way to the United States.
- “The Short Life of Jose Antonio Gutierrez” (Germany), Heidi Specogna’s revelation of the true story of the first U.S. soldier to die in Iraq, a Guatemalan street child attracted to the U.S. military as a way of obtaining a green card.
- “Songbirds” (U.K.), Brian Hill’s documentation of women in England’s Downview Prison, who create a musical in which they sing about their lives and crimes.
- “Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst” (Australia), Gillian Armstrong’s portrait of the flamboyant designer whose success has peaked with her exotic wallpaper prints. World premiere.
- “Viva Zapatero!” (Italy), Sabina Guzzanti’s irreverent study of Italian censorship under Berlusconi in comparison with that elsewhere in Europe.